OKLAHOMA DEATH ROW INMATE EXECUTED FOR MURDERS FROM 2002
Ch 9 - April 4, 2024 11:20 am
Michael DeWayne Smith
MCALESTER, Okla. –
Michael DeWayne Smith was put to death by lethal injection for killing Janet Moore and Sharath Pulluru in separate shootings on the same day in 2002.
Related Story: Man Convicted In 2 Murders From 2002 Denied Clemency
Moore was 40 years old and a mother from Oklahoma City. Smith told police he went to the victim’s apartment looking for her son, and shot Moore because she wouldn’t be quiet.
Pulluru was a 24-year-old store clerk when Smith killed him on the same day at a convenience store where he worked.
Clemency was denied for Smith during a hearing in March. His attorney has argued Smith is intellectually disabled and shouldn’t be put to death. He also claims Smith was not in his right mind at the time of the murders.
Smith is only one of 10 percent of death row inmates in the country who is convicted of multiple killings. He was the first person executed in Oklahoma this year.